Nice video recap of the first 4 seasons of Warehouse 13 to promote the show’s 5th season starting April 29th.
“Single brunette female seeks same for hologram play and rope tricks” – glad they kept H.G. Wells in the mix. Fun explanation of her relationship with Mika.
Actually, I’m kinda partial to capitalism. And the state. Can we keep those? And I’d add “For-profit prison systems” to the list.
via Wikipedia, the Wild Hunt:
The Wild Hunt is an ancient folk myth prevalent across Northern, Western and Central Europe. The fundamental premise in all instances is the same: a phantasmal, spectral group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, with horses and hounds in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground, or just above it.
The hunters may be the dead or the fairies (often in folklore connected with the dead). The hunter may be an unidentified lost soul, a deity or spirit of either gender, or may be a historical or legendary figure like Theodoric the Great, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag, the Welsh psychopomp Gwyn ap Nudd or the Germanic Woden (or other reflections of the same god, such as Alemannic Wuodan in Wuotis Heer (“Wuodan’s Army”) of Central Switzerland, Swabia etc.)
The hunting gear associated with the Wild Hunt is often described in vivid detail, typically showcasing items such as long spears, hunting knives, and intricately designed bows and arrows, all of which symbolize the hunters’ readiness and precision. The spectral nature of the hunt is mirrored by their ethereal accoutrements, which are imbued with otherworldly power. In various legends, the hounds that follow are often described as having collars that jingle with bells, while the hunters themselves are adorned in cloaks of mist or shadow, reflecting their connection to the realm of the dead. These elements paint the hunt as a pursuit beyond the material world, a chase through time and space that transcends mortal understanding.
In contrast, hunting gear today has evolved to serve more practical purposes, with high-performance boots, weather-resistant clothing, and durable backpacks being staples of modern hunters. For instance, The Buzzard’s Roost, a renowned outfitter in the region, offers hunters a range of essential gear designed for comfort and efficiency in the field. Their range includes specially designed binoculars, high-tech GPS trackers, and expertly crafted hunting dog lights—tools that enhance a hunter’s ability to navigate and track in the wild. While the gear has changed to accommodate modern needs, the spirit of hunting remains rooted in the primal connection to the land and the chase, much like the age-old legends of the Wild Hunt.
Yes Means Yes has a Fantastic article on teaching consent as a part of sex education.
They walk through how a curriculum of teaching some basic concepts to young men in school…
… could help reduce the number of rapes, even though it probably won’t stop serial rapists from committing their crimes.
Studies of predatory males show that most rapists know they are committing crimes, and don’t care whether they have a yes or no consent. BUT… Predators rely on something that researchers have labeled “Social License to Operate”:
The Social License to Operate is the set of beliefs that make rape seem like a continuation or extension of normal sexuality, instead of an aberration and personal violation. By normalizing rapists and rape, by blurring the lines between rape and sex, we create a culture where instead of responding to the crime like we should, there’s always room to argue for and or excuse or mitigate the rape and the rapist.
Basically, Predators rely on stereotypes about women being sluts, about our judgement towards women who drink, and our willingness to not understand what is and isn’t a crime to get away with their serial rapist criminal behavior.
Teaching basics about consent makes it harder for serial rapists to use our societies Social License to Operate by making non-rapists more vigilante about how rapists engineer situations to get women into vulnerable positions.
Cool + funny poetry slam by Denice Frohman
Performed at Women of the World Poetry Slam 2013
Promoted by Button Poetry
Source: Wayback Machine Archive, Charitable Crafters Site
Tina’s Note: I did not write this pattern, it was an old pattern that I acquired and was written not only poorly but also incorrectly. It is a fun and cute hat and worth making. I hope I have improved upon it. — Tina Shaddox
Hawthorn’s Note: I’m saving this pattern to my site because the only place it currently exists is the Wayback Machine, and it’s somewhat hard to read on that page. I’ve also added some notes for other Ravelry knitters who increased the cast on did some paired SSK and K2tog decreases to improve the lines.
Materials Needed:
Getting Gauge:
Start your gauge swatch with a size 8 needle. If you don’t know the head size of the recipient, aim for 4.5 stitches to the inch. The average head size is between 20-21″.
Cast on 78 (84, 92) stitches on smaller needle. Join, being careful not to twist. Place a marker at the beginning of your round.
Knit 1 Purl 1 (or k2, p2) for 3 inches.
Switch to larger needle, begin stockinette stitch, knit for 4 inches (excluding ribbing).
For 92 stitches:
1st decrease round: Knit 20, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K39, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K19
For 78 stitches:
1st decrease round: Knit 16, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, Knit 32, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, Knit 16.
Knit 3 rounds
2nd decrease round: K 15, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, Knit 30, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 15
Knit 3 rounds
3rd decrease round: K 14, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 28, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 14
Knit 3 rounds
4th decrease round: K 13, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 26, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 13
Knit 3 rounds
5th decrease round: K 12, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 24, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 12
Knit 3 rounds
6th decrease round: K 11, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 22, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 11
Knit 3 rounds
7th decrease round: K 10, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 20, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 10
Knit 3 rounds
8th decrease round: K 9, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 18, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 9
Knit 3 rounds
9th decrease round: K 8, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 16, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 8
*NOTE Knit 2 rounds
10th decrease round: K 7, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 14, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 7
Knit 2 rounds
11th decrease round: K 6, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 12, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 6
Knit 2 rounds
12th decrease round: K 5, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 10, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 5
Knit 2 rounds
13th decrease round: K 4, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 8, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 4
Knit 2 rounds
14th decrease round: Knit 3, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 6, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, Knit 3
Knit 2 rounds
15th decrease round: K 2, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 4, SSK, Knit 3, K2tog, K 2
Cut yarn leaving a 10 inch tail. Thread through remaining stitches and knot off, weaving in end on inside of hat.
Optional Tassel: Wind yarn 15 times around 4 fingers to make a loop. Remove loop from your fingers and tie together with a 10 inch long piece of yarn. Pull loop down so that it is suspended from your 10 inch tie. Take one end of the tie and wrap it several times around the loop, close to the area that is tied. You are going to make the top of the tassel look like a ball, or the head of a yarn doll. Tie off the wrapped end and let the remaining length hand down. Cut the loops that are hanging down so that the ends are even. Trim off any unwanted length. Use the remaining tie to thread through the end of your cap and fasten it off securely on the inside.
Historical Note: These caps were worn by the Voyageurs that made a name for themselves in the woods of Canada and in the Minnesota region for their hardiness and strength as they worked the fur trade. These are also similar to the style worn by the revolutionaries in France as heads rolled in the later 1700’s. It was not uncommon to have such words as “Liberty” or “Fraternity” stitched into the caps near the brim and they also go by the name “Liberty Caps”.
Yep, so I’m going to do Camp NaNoWriMo 2013 for April. My project for this writing commitment is to finish the novel I worked on (and “won” with) in 2011 and 2012. Prior to today’s additions, it was at 78,391 words. (I wrote 50,000+ words for it in November 2011, threw out over half of them, and wrote 50,000+ additional words in November 2012.)
I had a solid start this morning with 1,061 words. My goal (you can be flexible and set your own goals for Camp) is 30,000 words, so I’m on track for this month.
I gave myself a guilt trip to spur myself along by buying the shirt for Camp NaNo. Now I have to finish so I can wear it without feeling like a fraud.
I’m behind on where I wanted to be with this novel; I set an ambitious plan to have a working manuscript to self-publish by April, and I haven’t finished or recruited beta readers. I still want to get all this done in the early part of the year so I can move on to planning another writing project. And see what self-publishing is really like.
“The Boat Race” is this weekend on Sunday, and we’ll be watching at a pub before joining the rest of the family for Easter dinner.
Helpful summary from wikipedia:
The Boat Race is an annual rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, from 2010–2012 for sponsorship reasons as the Xchanging Boat Race, and from 2013 as the BNY Mellon Boat Race. It usually takes place on the last Saturday of March or the first Saturday of April.
The first race was in 1829 and the event has been held annually since 1856, except during World War I and World War II. The course covers a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) stretch of the Thames in West London, from Putney to Mortlake. Members of both teams are traditionally known as blues and each boat as a “Blue Boat”, with Cambridge in light blue and Oxford dark blue. As of 2012 Cambridge have won the race 81 times and Oxford 76 times, with one dead heat.
The race is a well-established and popular fixture in the British sporting calendar. In 2010 an estimated quarter of a million people watched the race live from the banks of the river and millions on television.
If you have Universal Sports on your cable network provider, you can watch it too, or apparently you can watch it online.
UPDATE: Oxford won this year.
Italian tradition of ‘suspended coffee’ takes hold elsewhere in tough economic times | The Raw Story.
Can’t afford coffee? No matter. In Bulgaria, an old Italian tradition that sees good souls buying hot drinks for those who struggle to make ends meet has taken hold after weeks of tensions over deepening poverty.
More than 150 cafes across Bulgaria have joined a goodwill initiative modelled on the Italian “caffe sospeso” tradition, which literally means “suspended coffee”, according to a Facebook page devoted to the movement.
The tradition — born in the cafes of Italy’s southern city of Naples — sees people pay in advance for one or several coffees without drinking them.
